Bow Before the SRT Viper, the Best-Designed Car of the Year

Perhaps no sight in 2012 caused as much geared lust as the reveal of the 2013 SRT Viper, whose air intakes, double bubble roof, side gills, and other performance feature meld accent a stunning sheetmetal design. Oh, and it's staggeringly fast.

SRT Viper

SRT Viper

Base Price: $99,390

With its cartoonish silhouette and staggering performance numbers, the Dodge Viper is the epitome of the car-poster supermodel. Throughout its four generations, which began in 1992 and ended in 2010, four design elements came to define the car's shape—cab-rearward proportions, double-bubble roof, central air intake, and side gills. But for Ralph Gilles, Chrysler's senior vice president of design and CEO of its SRT performance subbrand, these elements never fully melded into one cohesive design. So when he got approval to make a new Viper, his team built it from the ground up. The SRT Viper advances the car's design, better blending the curvaceous sheet metal and increasing overall functionality. The only carryover from the old Viper? The windshield.